NYT Coronavirus Graphic: An Appreciation

We at the LDDC have a keen interest in how visual representations can convey complex information in an immediately effective way. Recently, I noticed an impressive graphic in a New York Times article about the coronavirus outbreak that demonstrates many of the qualities of a successful visual. Here it is:

This is an information-rich graphic. The legend actually appears in the white space in the top right and shows that the X axis measures the contagious nature of a virus while the Y axis measures how deadly a virus is. The graphic thus immediately conveys that we have experienced many more deadly viruses — smallpox, MERS, Ebola, etc. The graphic also quickly shows that Coronavirus is not nearly as contagious as Chickenpox or Measles.

What strikes me most is how the graphic captures the gap in our current understanding. The beige square elegantly conveys that Coronavirus may fall anywhere within a broad area on the deadliness/contagious continuum. To me, this is reassuring. Although the disease is certainly serious and much remains to be discovered, it would appear that everything we know so far indicates that Coronavirus is neither more deadly nor more contagious that previous outbreaks.

Of course, the failure to contain Coronavirus early may yet mean that it turns into a global pandemic. This graphic does not show how many cases were identified before containment efforts got into full swing — nor does it show how many people actually died. We are the LDDC certainly appreciate the need to critically assess the gaps in data as well!

Nonetheless, the graphic does an excellent job of conveying evidence supporting the conclusion that panic is unwarranted. And, as all Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fans know, the first rule of existence in times of crisis is “DON’T PANIC!”